Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

That's not surprising. Whatever deal Squad had with Shapeways would likely no longer be valid since Squad no longer owns the Kerbal Space Program intellectual property; Squad can no longer authorize any third-party to use the Kerbal likeness for commercial products. My guess is at this point it would require Take-Two and Shapeways coming to some sort of new agreement to restart sales of KSP figures.

That being said, maybe a new arrangement is in the works between Take-Two and Shapeways, but I haven't seen any official mention of Shapeways since Squad sold KSP. It likely would not take a lot of time or work to restart sales if Take-Two wishes to do so.

I'm guessing Shapeways was printing to order; it's unlikely they keep a stock of figures, but even if they do I'd be surprised if they could sell anything until a new deal is made.

Share on other sites

That's not surprising. Whatever deal Squad had with Shapeways would likely no longer be valid since Squad no longer owns the Kerbal Space Program intellectual property; Squad can no longer authorize any third-party to use the Kerbal likeness for commercial products. My guess is at this point it would require Take-Two and Shapeways coming to some sort of new agreement to restart sales of KSP figures.

That being said, maybe a new arrangement is in the works between Take-Two and Shapeways, but I haven't seen any official mention of Shapeways since Squad sold KSP. It likely would not take a lot of time or work to restart sales if Take-Two wishes to do so.

I'm guessing Shapeways was printing to order; it's unlikely they keep a stock of figures, but even if they do I'd be surprised if they could sell anything until a new deal is made.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

I Know there wasCafe Presswhich made merchandise for KSP; I don't know what happened with them as Cafe Press still seems active.

Shapeways appears to still be very much in business after a quick check of their website. It looks like they still have a lot to offer, but probably no Kerbals until they have a new deal worked out with Take-Two.

I wonder if anyone from Squad or Take-Two gave maintaining the Shapeways merchandise agreement a thought during the sale of KSP.

Edit:

I just checked that Cafe Press link you posted. I could be wrong, but that merchandise appears to be unaffiliated with Squad or Take-Two. It looks like it was created by a fan and I don't see anything that makes it look like those are officially licensed products.

Share on other sites

I've got a KSP mug from cafepress. Very nice quality print. Holds up well with over 18 months of use.

sadly I'll never have a shapeways kerbal rocket.

Then again legal stuff can take a long time to resolve, so who know how long the deal took to work out. For example: there were unresolved IP issues with Fallout long after Fallout 3 came out.

Ah, it could certainly be the case that the deal between Squad and Shapeways was terminated prior to any business with Take-Two. Perhaps the deal had an expiration date and was not renewed or perhaps one or both parties decided to end the deal. I don't remember seeing anything about Shapeways no longer making KSP items, but I definitely could have missed that news.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

My name is Ruud and I'm EU Community Manager at Shapeways. In the past I have worked with two folks from Squad when they still had their shop open. I have been in touch with them a few months ago, but was not aware that the Kerbal shop recently closed down. First I'd like to apologize for this to everyone above who are affected and for the confusion it created.

Note that anyone who creates a shop on Shapeways, agrees with offering products that they themselves own the IP for. Closing a shop is also something they themselves are in charge of (so it was not done by Shapeways). In a case where the IP is moving to a different owner, I can imagine (a temporarily) closing of the shop is needed for figuring out the administration.

As far as I know we have not been in contact with Take-Two about this matter, but I'm happy to reach out to them and raise this subject on your behalf. I agree the shop was great for us too and I'd personally would love to see it open again for both of the Kerbal and Shapeways communities.

Let me know if there are any concerns/thoughts or other opportunities you see for Kerbal / Shapeways in this forum thread.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

just to keep you posted, I did reach out to Squad but haven't heard back in the past weeks. I'm planning on reaching out to Take Two soon but don't have any contacts there (yet ) so I can't give a timeline on if and when we have any news regarding this subject. Fingers crossed!!

Best,

Ruud

7

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

My name is Ruud and I'm EU Community Manager at Shapeways. In the past I have worked with two folks from Squad when they still had their shop open. I have been in touch with them a few months ago, but was not aware that the Kerbal shop recently closed down. First I'd like to apologize for this to everyone above who are affected and for the confusion it created.

Note that anyone who creates a shop on Shapeways, agrees with offering products that they themselves own the IP for. Closing a shop is also something they themselves are in charge of (so it was not done by Shapeways). In a case where the IP is moving to a different owner, I can imagine (a temporarily) closing of the shop is needed for figuring out the administration.

As far as I know we have not been in contact with Take-Two about this matter, but I'm happy to reach out to them and raise this subject on your behalf. I agree the shop was great for us too and I'd personally would love to see it open again for both of the Kerbal and Shapeways communities.

Let me know if there are any concerns/thoughts or other opportunities you see for Kerbal / Shapeways in this forum thread.

Best,

Ruud van den Muijzenberg
European Community Manager | Shapeways

2 hours ago, RudyLime said:

Hey y'all,

just to keep you posted, I did reach out to Squad but haven't heard back in the past weeks. I'm planning on reaching out to Take Two soon but don't have any contacts there (yet ) so I can't give a timeline on if and when we have any news regarding this subject. Fingers crossed!!

Best,

Ruud

@Badie@UomoCapra (Ruud, the two people I tagged are KSP PR peeps so they might be able to give you a response)

2

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

just to keep you posted, I did reach out to Squad but haven't heard back in the past weeks. I'm planning on reaching out to Take Two soon but don't have any contacts there (yet ) so I can't give a timeline on if and when we have any news regarding this subject. Fingers crossed!!

Best,

Ruud

Hey Rud! We are working on it and someone from Squad or T2 will contact you soon

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

so after last weeks' forum post we from Shapeways were able to meet with Take Two yesterday. The meeting itself was very productive and I'm thrilled to share that we're looking into options to continue and expand the 3D printed Kerbal Space Program merchandise soon. When and how this comes online is still to be defined but please hang in there a bit longer -- good things are coming!

Again a massive thank you for being such great fans of KSP and loving the 3D printed figurines -- without you this would not be possible!

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

I'm sorry to keep poking at this if there isn't any news regarding a reopening of the KSP shop at Shapeways, but I would really like to keep stirring the pot on this.
It would be absolutely awesome if those gorgeous KSP figurines returned.

So i would like to know whether there's any news on this (good or bad) and if so; is there a set timeline for a return (full or partial) of the KSP shop?

All the best
Alex from Denmark

1

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

I'm sorry to keep poking at this if there isn't any news regarding a reopening of the KSP shop at Shapeways, but I would really like to keep stirring the pot on this.
It would be absolutely awesome if those gorgeous KSP figurines returned.

So i would like to know whether there's any news on this (good or bad) and if so; is there a set timeline for a return (full or partial) of the KSP shop?

All the best
Alex from Denmark

Guys so sorry I completely missed this notification. Alex pinged me today on Shapeways.com to ask about the status.

We have had a great discussion with Take Two in the summer, with a lot of enthusiasm from both sides. However, deciding to actually re-launch and when that's going to happen is really up to Take Two. The more we all prove that we want these awesome figurines available again, the better the odds will be!

Sorry i can't give more information, but I hope this doesn't disappoint you.